page_title: Łódź Voivodeship
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Łódź Voivodeship / History
context_page_description: Łódź Voivodeship is a province-voivodeship in central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Łódź Voivodeship and the Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski and Skierniewice Voivodeships and part of Płock Voivodeship, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced.
  Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north and east, Świętokrzyskie to the south-east, Silesian to the south, Opole to the south-west, Greater Poland to the west, and Kuyavian-Pomeranian for a short stretch to the north. Its territory belongs to three historical provinces of Poland – Masovia, Greater Poland and Lesser Poland.
context_section_description: The capital of the Łódź Voivodeship has always been Łódź, but the area of land which it comprises has changed several times. The first was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Second Polish Republic in the years 1921–1939. In 1938 some western counties were ceded to Greater Poland Voivodeship (see: Territorial changes of Polish Voivodeships on April 1, 1938).
  After the change, Łódź Voivodeship's area was 20,446 square kilometres (7,894 sq mi), and its population (as for 1931) was 2,650,100. It consisted of 15 powiats (counties):
  Brzeziny county,
  Końskie county,
  Kutno county,
  Łask county,
  Łęczyca county,
  Łowicz county,
  city of Łódź county (powiat łódzki grodzki),
  Łódź county,
  Opoczno county,
  Piotrków Trybunalski county,
  Radomsko county,
  Rawa Mazowiecka county,
  Sieradz county,
  Skierniewice county,
  Wieluń county.
  The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population according to the 1931 census):
  Łódź (pop. 604,600),
  Piotrków Trybunalski (pop. 51,300),
  Pabianice (pop. 45,700),
  Tomaszów Mazowiecki (pop. 38,000),
  Zgierz (pop. 26,600),
  Kutno (pop. 23,400),
  Radomsko (pop. 23,000).
  Source: Mały rocznik statystyczny 1939, Nakładem Glownego Urzędu Statystycznego, Warszawa 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).
  The next incarnation existed from 1945 until 1975 (although the city of Łódź was excluded as a separate City Voivodeship). This Łódź Voivodeship was then broken up, superseded by Łódź (see below), Sieradz, Piotrków Trybunalski, Skierniewice and partly Płock Voivodeships.
  Łódź Voivodeship, also known as Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship (województwo miejskie łódzkie), existed from 1975 until 1998, after which it was incorporated into today's Łódź Voivodeship. Until 1990, the mayor of the city of Łódź was also the voivodeship governor.
  As of 1995, major cities and towns in Łódź Metropolitan Voivodeship included (with their 1995 populations):
  Łódź (825,600);
  Pabianice (75,700);
  Zgierz (59,100);
  Ozorków (21,900);
  Aleksandrów Łódzki (20,400).
caption: Łódź Voivodeship 1975–1998
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